Stealing Carter
by ValaMalDoran-Jackson
Summary: Jack steals someone. Read on to find out who...


**A/N: This was supposed to be part of my previous story "Like Normal People", but it didn't seem to fit in with what I was trying to convey. I wanted the two to be separate, yet linked, and I hope I did it some justice. Reviews are like candy to my plot bunnies, please feed them! VMD-J**

It all started so innocently with a phone call to her house. That was when the needle on Jack's internal sensors crossed over into the red.

"You're not going to be home until late." Jack repeated. Sam, too caught up in her calculations to hear anything over the clacking keys on her keyboard, completely missed his intonations.

"Fine. That's fine. We'll be here." He said then.

"Thanks. I'll be home late." Sam replied.

"We established that, Carter." Jack pointed out, and Sam had to smile.

"Bye." he hung up abruptly, Sam doing the same to immerse herself in the project once again.

"Okay campers, in the car." Jack called, grabbing the car keys and waiting for his two children to come bounding down the stairs.

"We going somewhere?" Six year old CJ asked hopefully, one blue eye eager with excitement, the other hidden behind a pirate patch. Jack raised an eyebrow, fighting back a smile at the boy's astronaut outfit from the previous Halloween. When asked about the eyewear, CJ was quick to remind people that astronauts could lose an eye in space, hence the patch.

"Maybe in a little bit, but first we need to stage a rescue." Jack grinned.

"Mommy wants to work late again?" Ella asked, unconsciously mirroring her father's stance.

When viewed as a family, no one could doubt that the children were anyone's but Sam's.

When with Jack, however, the subtle nuances that were Jack O'Neill lived on in his children. The innocent looks he was so quick to make after doing something wrong, those were CJ all over again. Ella had been more refined, much like her mother, but no one could argue the fact that she was gifted with the wit and bearing of her father. When she started baseball, Jack's pride knew no bounds.

CJ was the thinker along with Sam, the two reading diagnostic 'Gate manuals together as bedtime stories.

Ella loved nothing more than curling up in her father's lap and watching a Simpsons marathon with him.

"Ella? What's your vote on ice cream?" Jack asked. Truth be told, he was craving something sweet and, on spur of the moment decided to take them all to get some.

"Pistachio!"

Okay, maybe she wasn't exactly Jack's twin, but he could forgive her for the strange taste in treats.

"I want chocolate!" CJ begged.

Definitely Sam's son.

"After we pick up Mom." Jack reminded them.

Pulling into the parking area of the SGC, Jack opened the door and let his children out. Ella ducked under his arm and scampered toward the elevators, CJ hot on her heels and squealing for her to wait for him. The experts all said that a little sibling rivalry was to be expected between the children, but as of yet Jack hadn't seen any. The two still had their arguments, but those were settled soon afterwards, Ella usually coming up with a compromise of sorts that CJ was agreeable to. Even now, it was obvious that CJ and Ella both wanted to push the elevator button, and were working the problem out as Jack approached.

"Daddy, you keep track, okay? CJ gets to push these two going down, and I get to push the other two coming back up." Ella explained, panting a little after her short run.

"Sounds good."

Holding a finger to his lips, Jack warned the children to keep quiet as they entered Sam's cluttered room to see her studying something under a microscope. CJ grinned, knowing Daddy was going to pull a trick.

Moving in front of the table, Jack waited until Sam lifted her head, stifling a shriek of surprise at seeing him there.

"The kids want ice cream." He informed her with a straight face.

"You're the one that offered it, said how you couldn't wait!" Ella argued, bolting to her father's to tug on his hand.

"Yeah, you said we had to rescue a very beautiful princess from the scary castle underground, and that there would be a scary bad man who wants to keep her locked away, I wanna' see the castle underground, Daddy! And get some chocolate ice cream too. After we rescue the very beautiful princess from the scary bad man." CJ added.

"We're in the castle, CJ. Mommy's the princess." Jack explained.

"Who would the scary bad man be?"

"General Landry. Mommy's gotta' finish this project before the next mission goes out in three days." Jack grinned wickedly. "Good thing I talked to the scary bad man and offered him a ransom. We have to hurry and get Mommy out of here before the scary bad man changes his mind." He continued. Quickly scooping Sam off the chair, he tossed her over his shoulder and started out, Ella giggling hysterically at Sam's cry of surprise while CJ's eyes bulged out and his small jaw dropped.

"Jack, put me down!" Sam ordered, smacking his backside from her position.

"You've been staring at the same damn part for the last four hours, believe me when I say that this is for your own good. Your eyes will rot out of your skull if you keep looking at it!" Jack chuckled, making no move to release his wife as he carried her to the elevators. Sam swatted his six once again, knowing that he would never---

--- He did.

"Why are Mommy and Daddy spanking each other?" CJ asked Ella worriedly.

"Because they love each other. Sometimes, adults do strange things. Like this." Ella explained with as much wisdom as her nine years allowed.

"Don't sweat it. We're still getting ice cream, and we get to stay up late. This is a good thing." She continued. CJ nodded, taking her hand in his.

"Maybe they'll let us stay up even later at home and have a pillow fight or something. It is the weekend after all." She suggested.

By now, Sam was giggling wildly as Jack squeezed her six.

"Then again, we'll probably be going straight to bed once we get home." Ella finished.

"Are we still gonna' get ice cream?" CJ asked hopefully, seeing that promise swirling perilously close to the drain.

"Of course. Daddy promised us ice cream." Ella smiled down at him.

Satisfied, CJ hurried after her into the elevator.

The End


End file.
